All the Colors
by SpareShiro2018
Summary: Every child grows up living in a black-and-white universe until they find their other half...their perfect match. One day, when Viktor Nikiforov is sitting alone in a cafe during a terrible snowstorm, he meets a cheerful young man. He never knew that this particular person would end up creating a living paradise of color for both of them. *Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Romance, Humor*
1. Meeting Him

**Author's Note: Thanks for checking out my new Yuri! On ICE fanfiction, everyone~ It's told from Viktor's POV. Enjoy!**

 _ **Friday Morning**_

* * *

Mom and Dad told me that once they found each other, everything started to glow just as if foggy lenses had been cleared up. You generally live your life in black and white until your twenties, when you can be sure of who your love truly is. Those who are lucky find them early, those who aren't… never witness a gorgeous world of color. And I'm afraid I'm the latter. I've never seen so-called "color" before, and I must admit, I'm jealous. Really jealous. I can't tell you how many people I know have found the right person. Constantly being off to the side, living in such a dull world feels awful. As much as I keep wishing to find someone that will complete me and introduce the both of us to a glorious new environment, I haven't met a single person who feels right.

I'm a twenty-eight-year-old Russian teacher who doesn't have any good dating experiences with anyone: girls or boys. Every time I was in a relationship, there were issues; either I was the problem, or they were, or it was one-sided love to start with. Depressing, right? I'm starting to give up now, even when people around me - especially those who live with color now - keep reminding me that there are 'plenty of fish in the sea'. I can't help but have an ugly attitude towards them.

Why is "color" so intriguing? Honestly, there are countless reasons. If you think about it for a moment… just imagine… waking up to see _billions_ of different tones and shades, every one popping out from all sorts of different objects. Instead of everything being based off two tones, there's life to every single piece. The human mind can't quite comprehend the vastness of this concept. And how to fully explain in detail about how color works? Impossible. You just have to experience it for yourself.

I trudge through the heavy snow and overpowering gusts of wind to the cafe near my home, and then comfortably find a place inside to sit down. It's wintertime here in Hasetsu, Japan, and heck, it's _freezing._ I decide to use some good, old coffee to warm myself.

After ordering at the front desk and thanking the woman there, I wander back to the table with my drink. I pull out my phone from my pocket and begin checking my messages. My fingers were so lifeless and cold that my device couldn't even recognize them. Suddenly, I hear a _brrrriiing~_ , and I glance up to see a smaller-built man wearing boxy glasses, cheeks flushed. His scarf is tightly wrapped around his neck, and the huge parka he had on must've been the only thing that kept him alive through that brutal windstorm outside. _Poor guy must've got hit hard. I can't believe he's crazy enough to come here, too._

He breathlessly mutters, "Hey" with a grin that seemed to warm the whole atmosphere around us, and I didn't even get a chance to respond, considering he head straight to the front counter. My mind replays his soft voice over a couple of times, and I feel a deep longing to get to know this man. Whenever it's come to meeting new people, I've always had the urge to be outgoing. But today… I almost feel _intimidated_ by his presence, so I stay put right where I am.

The man grabs his cup of coffee and seems to be heading towards the door again. But once he gets near my table, he stops and takes a seat in the chair across from me. "Awful snowstorm, am I right?!"

"Yeah...!" I reply. _Really, Viktor?! That's ALL you can think of to say?!_

"How was your trip here?" the guy continues, taking a sip of his drink.

"Oh. Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad." I say. "I missed the worst of the snowstorm, so that's a bonus."

The man smiles. "Lucky, lucky. For ME, the wind was so strong I almost fell over!"

I chuckle, immediately becoming interested in him.

"But that's not all! When I was only about ten feet away from the entrance, I almost killed myself over some black ice!" He laughs and lifts his cup into the air. "And just for some coffee. I'm such an idiot."

I give him my trademark smile. "I'm glad you got here in one piece."

"Yeah." We both sip our coffee at the same time, eyes locked. I get the sudden urge to giggle, and he can tell because he snorts and rushes to place his cup back on the table.

Miraculously, I manage to swallow and then ask, "What's your name?" I hold out a friendly hand for him to shake. He takes it as I say, "I'm Viktor Nikiforov."

"Yuri Katsuki. Nice to meet you."

"You too, Yuri." There's a moment of silence, and we fill it in with looking at something else for a few seconds. But I just can't take the awkward tension. _What do I say?!_ "So, what do you do as a job?" I stutter.

Yuri adjusts his glasses and replies, "I'm a full-time lifeguard, here in Hasetsu."

"Oh, really? How neat!"

"How about you, Viktor? What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a high school teacher."

Yuri grins and leans forward onto the table, his hand supporting his head. He looks super interested. "Oh wowwww~! Is it fun? I remember wanting to become a teacher myself at one point, and here I am, teaching swimming lessons!"

I smile back and answer, "Well, my students can be a bit of a pain sometimes, but generally… yeah. It's pretty fun!"

"What grade do you teach?" Yuri asks.

"Grade 11."

"Cool!"

"And you?" I ask. "What age group do you teach?"

"Oh, I like to teach younger kids, from age 5-12." replies Yuri. "From time to time, they're such a handful, but it's always guaranteed to be a blast!" Suddenly he checks his watch and groans. "Sorry, I gotta run. Here's my number…!" Yuri takes an old receipt from his pocket and jots down his cell. "Talk to you soon, Viktor!" He stands up and runs out the door into the blizzard. The gust of wind carries the small paper along and out the door.

 _Oh shit…!_ I run to the door and fling it open, frantically looking at the ground for the paper. It's nowhere to be found. _Are you kidding me?!_ I dig through the snow with my bare hands and scan the sidewalk. No sign of it anywhere. _Come on…!_ I slumber back inside the cafe and sink into the chair where he was sitting. _He's already gone. Should I go and try to see which direction he went?_ Grabbing my coffee cup and bag, I walk out of the cafe and into the wild snowstorm. I desperately look back and forth, trying to find out if he went left, right, or straight. There aren't obvious footprints anywhere on the sidewalk, and even if there were, who knows _whose_ footprints they were.

I groan and speed-walk to the right of the cafe. _I'm going to have to hope he went this way._ I heavily walk through the snow covering the sidewalk and take a swig of my drink. All of a sudden, I see a person way ahead of me. "H-hey…!" I yell. Unfortunately, they don't seem to hear me through the howling, screaming gusts of wind. "Yuri?! YURI, IS THAT YOU?!" I try to run towards the figure and my coffee spills out onto my hand. Painfully wincing, I throw it onto the ground and keep trudging forward. The wind dies down a little bit, and I take the opportunity to shout, "YURI KATSUKI!"

The person looks back, and there he is. _Thank freaking GOODNESS._ "Viktor?! What're you doing out here in the cold?" he asks.

"Your number…!" I scream as the wind gets louder again. "I lost it!"

"What?!" Yuri asks. "I can't hear you!"

I yell and motion for him to "Stay there!" as I walk closer to him. Once I'm right next to him, I say, "Your number! I lost your phone number!"

Yuri Katsuki gently laughs into his hand and smiles up at me. "Give me your phone!" I do as he says, and he puts his number into my contacts. "There."

"Thanks." _I feel so, incredibly stupid._ "Where are you going, Yuri?"

The wind overpowers him when he shouts back.

"WHAT?!" I yell.

He laughs out loud and screams, "THE POOL!"

I smile back. "Can I tag along?!"

"Don't you have work to do?!" he yells.

 _He's good._ "Maybe."

The young man shakes his head with a smirk and waves me off. "Goodbye, Viktor!" He continues to walk forward, and I stand there, watching him leave. _Something about him just makes me feel so… happy. Fulfilled. I don't want him to go so soon._ I think about walking him to where he needs to work, but then I check my watch for the time. _Shit, I need to go to the school to teach!_ I run in the opposite direction, conveniently _against the wind_ , and I think about the man I just met 10 minutes ago. _Yuri Katsuki. I want to know more about him. I_ need _to know more about him._


	2. Have You Seen Color?

I arrive at the school at 9:57, just in time for my ten o'clock class. "Alright, everyone, today we'll be having a pop quiz." All of my students groan as I pull the quizzes out from my backpack. I teach Grade 11 Biology in Hasetsu High. Rumor says that some girls in my class have crushes on me, but I don't really like to get involved with all of that. To be totally honest, pairing up teachers and students make me cringe.

I sit in my desk as my class fills in the worksheet, flipping my pen and thinking of the mysterious lifeguard. There's still so much I have to learn about him. _What are his hobbies for his spare time? What's his favorite TV show? What sort of backstory does he have?_ Then it hits me. _What if he's the one? The one that will give my world color?_

I couldn't seem to stay still in my chair, so I stand up and pace back and forth, holding my phone in my hand. I send Yuri this message: _Do you want to meet me tomorrow at the same cafe? It'll be on me ;)_

My mind begins to wander back to the topic about seeing color. No one who's experienced it really knows how to describe it. All they say is that you don't just see black and white. You see bright varieties of all types. Really unfortunate, now that I think about it. It's like living in a heaven, or a paradise, all the time. It's unfair. What about all the people who never find true love…? They never get there. Never see beauty.

My phone pings, indicating that Yuri already got back to me.I excitedly look to find: _Sounds good! I need a break during the weekend anyways! ;D (Esp. with all this SNOW) You're lucky to catch me when I was drying off. I'm hopping back into the pool, so I'll have to talk to you later again. See ya :)_

 _Oh, Yuri…! He's an angel._ I send him a winky-emoji and then check the time. "Okay, everyone, I'll be collecting your pop quizzes now."

I never wanted to end a day so quickly before.

My whole night consisted of twisting and turning in my bedsheets, thinking and thinking about so many things. _What does he think about me? What happens if he IS the right person? Is color as beautiful as everyone says?_ I eventually fall asleep, dreaming of discovering paradise itself, with Yuri Katsuki at my side.

* * *

 _ **Saturday Morning**_

 _Yuri should be here any minute now._

It's Saturday morning, 10am. Snow is gently falling today, and the sun is shining down, melting the excessive snow. It's gorgeous and absolutely perfect for some coffee.

 _Brrriiiing~_ I look up to see Yuri Katsuki with messy hair and a grin on his face like usual. "Hey! Sorry, I was running a bit late…!"

"No, don't worry about it!" I reply, trying to keep my eyes off his bed-head.

He notices me staring and asks, "What's wrong? Did I get toothpaste somewhere?"

I chuckle and say, "Let me fix your hair." I stand up and slowly untangle his knotty hair. Yuri looks so embarrassed that his face starts to heat up. Once I'm done, he uncomfortably stares at the floor. _Oh shit, did I go too far?!_ "Sorry, I-"

"It's not you!" Yuri quickly assures. "I'm just so unorganized!"

I smile. "It's only a bit of tangled hair! No biggie. And don't we _all_ have those days?"

Yuri grins and takes a seat. "Thanks for getting the coffee ready for me." He takes the cup in his hands and slowly takes a little sip. "Mmm~ Tastes delicious."

I gaze at his cute, rounded face, so happy and so… _pure_. He suddenly peeks up at me with his big eyes, catching me by surprise. "…Y-yeah, no problem…!" I stutter like a total idiot. _Why can't I just focus?!_

"So…" Yuri mumbles with an adorable smirk. "What're your plans for the Christmas holidays?"

 _Right, they're only in a week!_ "I don't have any plans, actually." And yes, this _was_ the truth.

Yuri looks overjoyed. "Maybe we could hang out~! I could let you through to the pool for free, since I work there."

My jaw drops accidentally, and Yuri giggles, letting out a tiny snort. My hand rushes to my mouth to stop myself from bursting out into laughter. "S-sounds great!" I mutter, trying my hardest not to explode. _He's just so thoughtful…_

"Awesome~" my friend replies, his glasses sliding down his nose. He notices and lets out a groan. "I should really wear my contacts more often."

"You have contacts?"

"Yeah, but I hate putting them in." he grumbles. "I almost poke my eye out every time."

I chuckle and sip my coffee. _I can totally see that happening._ "And I bet you look great in them."

"...Thanks." he mutters, looking away. I realize his face gradually turning a darker shade, and I have a sudden, strong urge to see color.

"H-have you ever seen colors before, Yuri?" I blurt out.

The poor man didn't expect that to come into conversation, and he nearly chokes on his hot drink.

I speedily lean forward to see if he's alright. He coughs a couple of times and says, "I'm fine…!" He swallows and gives me his friendly, trademark smile. "No, I haven't."

I look down into my cup of coffee and carefully spin it around a bit. "Me neither." It's unusually tense right now, and it makes me awfully nervous. _I could've screwed this up already. I'm always bad when it comes to dating. … Wait, is_ this _considered a date?!_ My heart begins to pound and we both fiddle with something in the meantime, our faces both flustered.

"How often have you dated?" I ask.

Yuri shrugs and looks from side to side. "This is my first date…" His face falls as he realizes his mistake.

 _So he_ does _think this is a date!_

Smiling, I decide to go along with it. "This is my first date that's actually went significantly well."

He gives me a small, nervous smile as he plays with his fingers. "I'm glad."

"Me too." I say, and then I do something completely out of question: I reach out and hold his cold hand. He glances up into my eyes and keeps his hand in place… in mine. A spark of hope comes from my chest as I think, _He could be the one. I feel like our feelings toward each other are genuine._

Yuri stammers, "A-anyways, so… how bad has one of your dates been…?" His hands still remain under mine, which is incredibly comforting.

I softly laugh and say, "A girl has showered me with her hot tea before."

Yuri winces as he imagines it. "Ouch…!"

"It wasn't that wonderful."

Yuri looks down at our hands as he mumbles, "How many _men_ have you dated?"

"One. In the last year of high school." I answer.

"How was that…?"

I sigh as I remember how bad it went. "Our relationship didn't last long. I found out that he was lying about liking me, and he told his friends I fell for him." Yuri cringes as I continue, "A rumor went around the school that I'm _gay,_ and, well…"

Yuri is gazing into my eyes when I look up at him.

"It was true..." I mutter. "But it hurt. People made fun of me. Even my closest friends judged me for it and didn't dare talk to me in public."

Yuri nods as if he'd experienced the same situation.

"How about you? When did you discover you liked guys?"

"When I was sixteen." Yuri sits back and looks into the distance as if the memory was replaying in front of him. "I knew I wasn't going to change how I felt towards guys. I just… didn't feel attracted to any girls... I thought it was only a phase, but here I am. I haven't changed."

I give him a heartfelt smile and whisper, "I admire you for being who you are, Yuri… I really do."

He grins at me, dark eyes peering at me. "You too. It's tough finding the right person."

 _The right-!_ I think to myself. _I'm not the only one thinking that chemistry is in play here._

Yuri must've guessed what I was thinking, because he looked even more shy now. "I-I should go." he mutters in a rush. "Appointment to be at."

The tingly feeling in my heart quickly turns into sinking regret. I stand up at the same time he does, and Yuri avoids my gaze, grabbing his coffee and saying, "Thanks, Viktor."

"Talk to you later?" I desperately ask, and he must not have heard it, because he leaves the café without another word. I watch Yuri shuffle away down the sidewalk and then across the street. I let out a disappointed sigh and pick up my bag, walking out of the shop and into the cold. _I never know what to do or say._

When I get home, I lifelessly crumble into my living room couch, head in my hands. _I'll always be alone... won't I?_


	3. The Phone Call

**Author's Note:** **Later this chapter you'll come across phrases in different languages, so it'd be efficient to have Google Translate at hand. (Type in the phrase and then select the suggested option below what you typed. It should then give you the meaning ^^ Sorry if that's confusing XD) A** **lso, thank you all so much for your favorites/follows/views~~ ^^ Enjoy!**

* * *

Sunday is normally a day that I like to relax and take a break on. Today it just seems like another twenty-four hours to slouch around. Last night was awful. I couldn't sleep at all, so I stayed up all night watching random shit on TV. Looking in the mirror this morning made me feel even worse. Dark bags are gathered beneath my eyes and my hair is messy as heck. Being run over by a car probably looked better than I did right now. I'm sprawled on the floor at the moment, looking up at all the intricate designs on the ceiling.

I'm not entirely sure why I feel so depressed about another failed attempt at finding love. I mean, I should've seen this coming from miles away. Everything was going along so perfect, but so especially quick that I didn't seem to realize how fake this love must be.

I wonder how Yuri felt about yesterday, but it hurts to think about the expression I last saw him wear. _Was he really determined to leave on time for an appointment, or was it just an excuse to escape?_

 _And why am I so aroused whenever he's around? Was he not quite ready for dating or was he not interested in the first place?_ My mind continues to play tricks on me, and I spend an hour thinking about this particular lifeguard.

I never end up having breakfast, and I'm making myself nervous. It's already lunchtime. My stomach is growling, tugging away, commanding to be given food, and I try my hardest to ignore it. Suddenly my phone buzzes, but I don't even bother looking at it at this point. If I was still in my right mind, I'd be frantically scrambling to pick it up. I wait there to see if it continues to vibrate, and there's no further sound. A minute later, it starts to ring. I lifelessly reach out and pick it up. When I see the Caller ID, my heart just about leaps out of my chest. _IT'S YURI!_

Warily, I pick up my phone and mutter, "Hello? Viktor speaking."

"Hey, it's Yuri." the soft voice responds. "I wanted to… to apologize for yesterday." ... _Huh?_ "I was so rude when I left all of a sudden."

I'm completely speechless. "…I-it's alright."

"No, it's not." Yuri confidently replies. "I need to make it up for you."

 _Make it up? Does this mean I_ didn't _scare him away?_ "Hm?"

I could sense his blushing from here. "I-I want to ask you out… on a date, Viktor! Will you go on a date with me?!"

Well, HECK, I can't possibly say no. "Y-yes!" I stutter, already feeling so much better.

"Are you busy tonight?"

"No." _Is this actually happening?! Normally_ I'm _the one who'd ask the other person out… but then again, here I am._

"I'll pick you up. Seven." Yuri tells me.

"Okay—"

… Aaaaand he hung up.

 _BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THAT, I'M GOING ON A DATE!_ I spring up from the ground and excitedly dash to my room. _I won't be able to wait so long…!_

* * *

It seems like hours go by before seven o'clock pulls around. In the meantime, I'd fixed my hair, applied foundation to hide the bags under my eyes, accentuated my cheekbones by using makeup, adjusted my tuxedo _billions of times_ to make sure it looked absolutely perfect, and I rehearsed what I'd say when Yuri showed up.

 _Knock knock!_ I stroll over to the front door and open it to see the Lifeguard-Prince of my dreams. Yuri Katsuki looks stunningly charming. His hair is slick back with gel, his contacts are on – glasses, off - his tuxedo is all-white, and he's wearing the same, bashful grin. "Hey!"

My eyes are still scanning up, down, and all over his body. "H-hi…!" _So much for that sweep-you-off-your-feet speech I practiced so many times._ "You look fantastic!"

"Thanks." Yuri giggles as he says, "The contacts are still a pain, but it's worth it." I smile and begin to lose myself in his big, dark eyes. "You're looking sharp, Viktor. Glad you wanted to hang out tonight!"

"You too…"

Yuri's eyebrow goes up and he smiles, confused. "What?"

"Beautiful."

The Japanese man in front of me nervously chuckles. "Huh?"

I suddenly snap back into it and stutter, "G'night!"

This triggers Yuri into laughter, and he shakes his head in amusement. "C'mon, let's go."

Yuri gleefully grins as I awkwardly follow along behind him, totally unaware of what really happened just a moment ago. My date's poor car heaves its way through the clumps of snow on the road, and we eventually make it to a fancy restaurant.

"Yuri, you don't have to—"

"Viktor, this is a DATE. I'm bringing you to this restaurant."

I open my mouth to object, but then I see the sparkle in his eye and decide to shut it. "Fiiiiine~!"

We go on inside the building, being assigned a table right away, and I take a seat across from Yuri. The room is dim, with jazz music playing in the background, and every table for two has an unlit candle in the middle. Like the speak of the Devil, a man in a tailored suit smoothly strides over and uses the lighter in his hand to start up the candle between us. Yuri and I grab our menus and search through each page to find out what we'd like to order. A couple of minutes go by until a waitress comes and takes our order.

We quietly sip from our glasses of water, and when Yuri looks behind himself a moment, I quickly breathe into my hand to test if my breath smells okay. He looks back to see me fixing a loose hair with my pocket-sized mirror.

"The candle is a nice touch." Yuri mutters with a grin.

I gaze at Yuri's glowing face and give him a warm smile. "It's perfect."

Yuri chuckles and says, "I've always wanted to go on a date here."

"It's a great restaurant from what I can tell!" Viktor responds. "I'm surprised I've never heard of this place before…"

"And you haven't even tasted the food yet!" Yuri responds, grinning widely. I smile down at the tablecloth, and he teasingly whispers, "And here I thought _I_ was nervous for this date…"

My head snaps back up and I stammer, "H-hey! I'm just a little warm right now. That's all."

 _Tell him the TRUTH, Viktor._ Right as I open my mouth to admit that, _I'm completely smitten with you,_ he replies with, "Pffft, yeah, it IS warm!" Yuri slips his arms out of his suit jacket, one by one, and then hangs the jacket on the back of his chair. I can't help gazing at his soft lips as he continues: "I'm glad I wasn't going crazy or something."

 _I'm gonna tell him. I can't lie to him on our first OFFICIAL date._ "Yuri-"

"Your food, sirs." I glance up and see a waiter daintily holding our dishes. He places them in front of us and Yuri and I say our thanks before he leaves.

"You were saying, Viktor?" Yuri lifts his glass of water to his mouth and takes a sip, waiting for my response.

I shake my head back and forth and say, "Oh, it's nothing. Doesn't matter anymore." I give him a reassuring smile at the end to ensure that he received the message. He slowly bobs his head, but it doesn't seem like he believes me. Clearing my throat, I add, "What are we waiting for?", referring to the plates.

Yuri gently chuckles into his hand and takes his fork and knife, using them to saw through his steak. I fiddle around with my utensils and use one to eat my soup. Only a few moments later, Yuri is trying his hardest to hold back his laughter.

"What's so funny?" I ask, lip curling up in amusement. _He's always so bright and bubbly._

He miraculously manages to get out "Y-your utensil…!", and he returns to his giggling fit. I frown and look down to see my swimming fork. _Shit._ Embarrassed, I snatch it out of my soup and replace it with a spoon. _I'm acting like a pure lunatic._

"The temperature is only getting hotter now, is it not?" Yuri snorts, covering his mouth to muffle the noise. And thank goodness he did, because even still he had everyone's attention.

I shade my flushed face by looking down. "Yuri… You might want to pipe down a little bit."

Finally, he comes to realize how rambunctious he's being in such a top-notch restaurant. Yuri's mouth immediately zips shut and his face nearly burns to a crisp. It was awfully cute, to be honest.

"How has your job been?" I ask, raising my spoon to my mouth.

He grins and replies, "Fun bunch of kids, really. But there's one that's a bit of a pain. Cliche, I know." I nod, wiping my mouth with a napkin. "And you?"

"My students have been relatively well-behaved, which I can't help but be happy about."

My date smiles. "Thank goodness! I couldn't imagine having to control a full class of annoying sixteen and seventeen year olds…"

Chuckling, I add, "Some days I might as well work at day camp." Yuri Katsuki smiles back at me, a shimmer coming to life in his eyes. My heart skips a beat as I realize how well this date has been going so far. I thought it'd be a mess since our last meet ended with Yuri running out the door. "What do you- what've you got there?" I stutter, cocking my head to the side.

I notice that there's some sort of fried meat between Yuri's chopsticks, and he swallows his mouth-full before answering with: "Katsudon. It's a family favorite."

I gaze at his bowl full of rice and sauce. "How peculiar-"

"Want a taste?" He holds out his chopsticks for me to take.

 _Only an idiot wouldn't take that offer._ "Uhm, I guess so…?!" I grab the chopsticks and he hands me the bowl. I snatch a slice of pork and pop it into my mouth. The Japanese man across the table from me grins widely, anticipating my reaction. I chew and take in all the glorious flavors at once.

"So? What do you think?!" Yuri excitedly asks.

I dramatically pause to take a moment to think of what to say. "AH~!" I shout, fingers curled together as if I was a satisfied Italian chef. "VKUSNO~!"

Yuri nervously chuckles, mumbling, "What now...?"

"Délicieux! Delizioso! Oishii~!" I glance at my date, who looks genuinely aroused-slash-impressed with my fluency in worldwide languages. _One point for me._

He smirks and playfully raises an eyebrow at me. His eyes tell me that this shit is ON. "Sore wa iidesu ne."

 _Oh dear._ I hopelessly shrug. "Je ne sais pas, mon cheri."

Poor Yuri frowns in confusion and responds with, "Wakarimasen…"

I laugh and decide to continue, this time in Russian. "Ty samyy krasivyy v komnate, Yuri. Ya tozhe tebya lyublyu."

"I'm going to kindly order you to translate that." he answers with a grin on his face.

I run my hands through my silver bangs and flirtatiously gaze at him from the corner of my eye. "Should I, now?"


	4. Destined to Meet

**LONG DELAY - ONCE AGAIN. (BIG SURPRISE.) HERE YOU ARE. ENJOY. (P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YURI KATSUKI 💗💗)**

* * *

I've been taking my lazy-ass time to tell Yuri what I said tonight. I'd love to tell you how many times he's texted me since dinner to tell him, but I'm afraid my ten fingers won't account for the total number. Before you think anything else, _yes_ , I'm getting the feeling you want to tell me otherwise; I have the ability (est. Elementary school) to count without using my fingers, and calculators and minds were invented for a reason… But I don't give a shit. I love my Yuri, and I'll do whatever I can to keep our relationship sounding as spicy as possible. You guys must be anticipating this… How about I continue?

It's eleven o'clock at night. I'm more than ready to crash. _Ping!_ Aaaaand there goes Yuri again. But this time he isn't begging for the answer he's been wanting for hours. He tells me he's gonna go to sleep soon.

 **Up for a FaceTime before that? :)** I text him.

Only a moment later, my phone has an 'Accept or Reject' FaceTime notification, and after clicking the 'Heck Yes' option, I see my boyfriend, Yuri Katsuki. Even through the trippy lighting, I can clearly tell he's in bed, judging by the pillow taking up about a third or so of the screen and his, can I say, _bare_ chest?

"Are you fully dressed, play-boy?" A contagious dirty smirk spreads across my face and immediately runs along to Yuri's as well.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd call you a creep." he shoots back as he protectively pulls his covers closer to himself. I have to admit, he basically knows what best to say in every situation I've seen him in. I'm jealous of whoever has known him for so long.

I drop my phone onto my bed, leaving Yuri hanging with a lovely ceiling to gaze at instead of my face. His curious shouting is incoherent as I jump towards my closet, quickly dress down, and then, for shits and giggles, shout, "IT'S AN UNDRESS REHEARSAL, BABY!"

In response, a loud and sarcastically-horrified yell erupts from the phone. Chuckling, I throw on some pj bottoms and roll onto my bed, snatching my phone in the process. His gaze quickly moves from my face to my torso. "Holy shit."

"Hm?"

Yuri swiftly answers with, "The… _time_! I need to sleep!"

I smile, amused, and nod my head. "I should head out, too. Work tomorrow."

 _I guess Yuri forgot about bugging me for_ that _answer._ "Later." I say, and close off FaceTime. I slap my phone down on my side-table and tiredly stretch out on my bed, facing upwards. _I've never felt this way before with someone. Is this what falling in love feels like?_

* * *

 **Monday Morning**

I was tired as heck this morning, but that certainly didn't stop me from leaping out of bed to freshen up with a quick shower. As I run my hands through my wet hair, I shut my eyes and take a moment to imagine… a universe with color; with different shades; with magical surroundings anywhere and everywhere. How is a colorful world not every person's obsession? I mean, I try to keep my mind off of it when I'm with Yuri. It's entirely selfish of me to want that more than anything else. Color should be seen as more of a perk, not an ultimate goal.

* * *

"Cell division. A boring topic, I know. However, it's part of curriculum, and it might just interest or be of use to some of you guys." Pretty much the entire class looks back at me with dead eyes. I begin to strut around the room as I continue. "Why don't we make a bargain, then? I get you all to take this class seriously to refresh your knowledge on cell division, and I can spare you the pain of an extremely childish and catchy jingle that apparently helps you with learning cell division." I proudly stare at the students in front of me, hands firm on my hips. "All in favor of the jingle?" Hopefully none.

All but three students raise their hands. I sit there speechless for a second, and just let out a deep breath. Why didn't I see this coming? I glance at the three angel students for a moment and, with a suspicious grin, jot their names down on a scrap piece of paper. Once I've pulled up the video and it's only ten second through, each of the three kids who weren't in favor look like they would rather die in a pit. _Thank you and sorry._ But hey. Bonus: All of the students ended up groaning about it being drilled into their mind. Who was right? Me and my three new best friends.

I sit inside of the Teacher's Lounge during lunch break and take a good bite of some crisp lettuce from my salad. I get some looks from a couple of typical grumpy, older teachers for the unwanted noise with every chew I take. It sort of irks me. I mean, they need to respect my healthy life choices. And it's not like Mr. Barteli eats anything other than takeout every day. Ouch. Sorry, I'll shut up now.

I decide to surprise Yuri with straight-out telling him what I'd said last night at dinner. **"You are the most beautiful in the room, Yuri. I love you, too."**

I put my phone down and stab a couple strands of lonely romaine lettuce with my fork. Mr. Barteli's over-dramatic sigh is heard by everyone in the Lounge, triggering absolutely no response in me or anyone else, for that matter. It was normal for him to complain and sigh about everything. As I eat what's on my fork, I hear a couple of pings piggy-backing each other. It seems like Yuri got the message. I excitedly open up my messages to see what he said, but when I realize what the noises were really for, I let out a small sigh.

 **Hello, Mr. Viktor Nikiforov.**

 **A reminder: You have a dentist appointment with us on Thursday, December 12th at 3:30pm. Please respond with YES to confirm the appointment. Thank you.**

Alright. You win.

In the meantime, I play some Candy Crush levels and lose, like, all my lives a.s.a.p. because I can't focus worth beans. The time that's passed by now without an answer from Yuri is making me awfully uncomfortable. Has he seen it yet? What will he say when he does? Was I too confident by putting that into the conversation in the first place? Yuri?!

"Oh my goodness, Viktor." I nearly jump out of my skin but notice that it's only Andrew, the chill thirty-year-old Math teacher. "Those kids were going on and on about how much that cell song was stuck in their head from your Biology class."

Shining a slightly sarcastic, emotionally-drained smile, I say, "I gave them the option to choose the song or not, and majority chose incorrectly." I shrug and turn back to my phone to play some more Candy Crush.

All of a sudden, I get a message. Using my demon-speed finger-swiping skills, I found out that, indeed, this time it was Yuri.

 **You son of a gun.**

… Uhmmmm… _what?_ And no emoji to back it up? 'Kay.

 **? :D** , I text.

 **How so? :)** He responds.

 **I can't read you thru texts.**

My phone pings and a large file comes up. I click it and it shows a large picture of him sitting where he is forming a heart with his hands.

 **I love you.** He adds.

 **Love you always ;) Gtg. Ttyl.**

 **Byeee!**

* * *

Now, it's fricking COLD OUT. Right now I'm walking home from school. My gloved hands are stiff from the terrible, chilly weather, but the only thing that makes me more optimistic about it is my music. Earbuds are miracles. Thank you, whoever invented them. You absolute genius.

I bob my head to the classic, trendy _"Happier, by Marshmello & Bastille"_, not able to help myself but think about seeing Yuri again. _I want him to be happier._

As I get closer to the crosswalk, I catch a glance of a shop I can't remember being there before. It must've been the company that bought out that ancient, cleared-out bakery. I let out a tiny whispered "Yes" before crossing the street to check it out. I LOVE pet stores. (The real bomb.)

I immediately absorb the sounds and smells as I enter the shop; I probably freaked out the employees at least a little, considering how I had no shame in closing my eyes, stretching out my arms, and slowly spinning in a jolly circle.

It doesn't take me too long to check out everything in the shop, but the one animal that especially caught my interest was a small, brown, curly-haired pup. The moment I looked into its cage and into its warm eyes, I knew we were always meant to meet.


	5. The Mrs Mug

**Tuesday Morning**

When my alarm blares in my ear and I roll out of my lovely bed, I had completely forgotten. I hear a tiny yelp as I walk to the kitchen, seeming to be coming from the dining room. I quickly recall how yesterday afternoon had went, and I spring towards the cage holding my adorable little poodle. The puppy violently wags its tail at me. I smile at him before crouching down to open the cage hatch.

The dog pops out and bounces up and down on the spot before quickly glancing side to side and then slowly inching towards me. I gleefully twiddle my fingers at him as he puts a paw on my legs and sniffs me. "Heyyyy, buddy!" I coo. He carefully looks me in the face before leaping into my and smothering me with slobbery doggy kisses.

I laugh it away, keeping my mouth shut as I do, because _hygiene_. I eventually squirm out of the pup's grasp and get to my feet. He looks up at me for a moment, and then prances around someplace else in the room. I didn't even seem to think about how much he'd want to scan the house. It's no problem, really.

Though, I haven't even came up with a name for him yet, and it's really bugging me. I want to call him something other than _buddy_ , _pal_ , and _pup_. Maybe I'll think up some names today at school. Oh! Why don't I just ask Yuri?

 **You open tonight? :)** I text him.

I wait a few minutes before I see: **Yeah, what's up?**

 **You'll see.** I smirk as I text him the meet time at my place, and then I slip my phone into my pocket to get ready for work.

* * *

Once I reached the school from my home, I had caught a terrible cold, had lovely rosy cheeks thanks to the overpowering wind, and also had a bit of a cough. Just what I needed.

Before class started, I had entered the staff room to pick up the tests I marked from last week's Biology test. Mr. Barteli had glanced over at me after a few too many distracting sniffles and throaty coughs. "You sure you're up for teaching today, Viktor?" It might sound like he was asking a nice question, written out like I have for you, when really his tone of voice was the most bitch-ass it could get.

I had opened my mouth to respond by saying, "Yes, of course", but I was rudely interrupted by the same cranky man.

" _I_ don't think you are." He answered, arms folded across his chest in a cocky manner. "If you're still like this tomorrow, we can't _possibly_ let you come in the rest of this week and risk giving all those kids the same shitty winter sickness." Hah! That was a first. I always thought Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes _Barteli_ would rather die than let a cuss-word escape his lips.

* * *

"Okay, class," I sniff, "I've got your tests marked here." A tickle easily finds its way into my throat, and my eyes begin watering in a flash. I rush out of the classroom just in time to let out some real disgusting barks off into the crook of my elbow… right in front of no other than Mr. Barteli.

"I swear, Viktor," he quietly grumbles, "get away from those children before they get the same _dang_ disease!"

I stop and stare into his riled, aged eyes. "Why do you hate me so much, John?"

He scoffs before giving me a tired grin. "We have enough children here as it is." After having said that, he brushes past me toward my Biology classroom. "I'm covering your class. I already talked to Mason about having you return home."

I watch him make his slow, old way down the hall and wonder why he has to be such a troubled individual. But hey. How stupid would I be to complain about getting a free rest of the week off?

* * *

The evening came faster than I imagined possible. My good next-door neighbor, Jean-Jacques, looked after my poodle when I was out for, like, half-an-hour to teach. I insisted he accept the handful of dough I held out to him, but he selflessly shook the money off. Go figure: He's Canadian.

If Yuri's on time, he should be here in roughly ten minutes. Everything is all ready to go. The kettle already had hot water inside of it. Laid across the marble island is a bowl of olivier salad and some special dessert hiding underneath a lid. I had so much time today to think of what was perfect enough to make for tonight. A neat cloth is spread across the dining table, with the dishes and utensils all ready to go; I didn't forget the low-budget candle in the centre of the table either.

Am I rich AF? Yes. Why do I need to have a home-dinner instead of a more formal one at a restaurant? Because it's more heartfelt to make a homemade meal for someone. Plus, I feel poor, no matter what. But I'll go more into my wealth and heritage another chapter.

While I wait for him to arrive, I give my pup a tiny treat and pop him back into the cage. I place it someplace safe and then take a seat on the coach. All of a sudden I hear a gentle knock on the front door. A sly grin creeps on my face as I stand up and go to where the knock came from. I open the door to see a shivering little Yuri Katsuki with sopping wet hair. At this point his hair was practically crystallized, his face a pale, almost blue tone. I rush him inside as if I had just seen an impaled man enter the ER, and I quickly sit him down and fetch him a hot drink.

"Tea or hot cocoa?" I ask him from the kitchen.

"R...really… I'm fine."

At hearing this, I slowly roll my eyes. But not in that ticked off 'You're an irritating bitch sorta way, but the type that says a million different things, like: I can't believe how selfless you are, This is why you need a good man, and I don't know what I'd do if you did this to yourself all the time. That kind of stuff.

I scoop a couple of spoonfuls of hot cocoa mix and dump it into a "Mr." mug; the one I bought in a pair with a "Mrs.", but I scratched out the 's' because I knew _that_ would never happen. I vigorously stir the mix with the water and then toss in marshmallows.

"Thanks, Viktor." Yuri mumbles with a sleepy-looking smile after I hand him the mug.

I run a hand through his wet hair and place a small kiss on his forehead before walking back to the kitchen and quickly pouring a mug for myself. (It was the x-"Mrs." mug.)

I hear loud, long sips coming from the living room. It's impossible to hide the grin on my face when I return with my own drink. It drops a bit when I ask, "What made you wanna come here with wet hair in the freezing cold?"

Yuri lightly chuckles. "Work went later than I thought it would… I had to come here pretty much straight from work."

I give him a sympathetic smile and take a sip of my hot cocoa. I swallow my mouthful and decide to pose the question. "What would you name somebody?"

Yuri's mid-sip immediately turns into a coughing mess. I jump to my feet to go to him, but he waves me off. Soon, he regains his regular breathing pattern. "A name?"

"Yeah."

"Like… for a kid…?" he slowly mumbles.

"Mm-hm. Well… for a pet."

Yuri looks more than slightly relieved, and I still have absolutely no clue as to why he reacted that way. I dunno. He sits back a little and puts his mug down on the side table. "Depends. I need some context."

I stand up and begin walking towards my bedroom, leaving Yuri sitting on the couch, staring at where he last saw me. I peek back around the corner and beckon him with my hand.

"This is… amazing." Yuri mumbles as he gazes at all the different parts of my room. A walk-in closet, king-size bed, countless awards and medals from past school years… His eyes shimmered at the sight of everything.

I shrug and take a seat on my bed covers. "It's always been this way for me. My parents were two… _very_ rich people." Yuri nods, his eyes concentrated and in awe. "But the real reason I brought you here is to get your opinion…" I pick up the dog cage and place it in front of Yuri. "...is to find a name for this lil' guy."

He gawks at seeing the tiny poodle and his hands fly up to his mouth to show it. "This guy?! HE'S ADORABLE!"

I open up the hatch and the pup leaps out and at Yuri's feet. He laughs and crouches down only to be slobbered all over. "He loves meeting new people." I say, giving Yuri a grin and then leaning down to run my fingers through the pup's curly, tangled fur.

"Makkachin."

"Hm?" I look over at Yuri who has a fixed gaze on my poodle.

"Makkachin. It's Japanese for 'loyal companion'."

After taking one more good look at the excited pup, I knew full-well how perfect the name fit. I shuffle Makkachin back into the cage again and lock it up. I glance over at Yuri and quietly mutter, "Want to get out of here?"

The edge of his mouth turns up and he gently takes hold of my collar, our faces only centimeters away. "Hell to the yes."


	6. Eros: On Love

As a kid, the basement was always my favorite spot to hide from someone, especially my parents when they wanted to put me to bed. But this time was different. I wasn't hiding from anyone. I wasn't alone.

To be brutally honest, I never really spend much time in my own basement. It still looked well-polished and almost too perfect. (Not for much longer?) Down here was the most random shit… a stack of old books, a few bottles of vodka, a flower pot with fake flowers, a king-sized bed… That sort of stuff. But that doesn't matter right now.

Yuri definitely had me shocked when I realized how much more eager he was than me. Right now, he says he's getting dressed… which I don't think is the point, but maybe he has something special in mind. I simply sit on the comforter in the meantime while reading one of the old books I own but had let die down here with the dust bunnies.

The book is a kid's picture book, called "Jack and the Beanstalk", illustrated by Matt Faulkner. I remember getting this book years ago to help myself learn better English. I don't need it anymore.

When I hear Yuri come out of the room he was changing in, I glance over only to feel my heart pounding out of my chest. Shit, he looked good. He was wearing black pants with a tight, black, semi-transparent top. His face was oddly bare without his glasses, but I think I could get used to that. There was a sash from the shirt on the right hip, and sequins were spread along his torso. "It's a figure skating outfit," he tells me as he walks forward, closer to me and the bed.

"You're a figure skater?" I quietly ask, not taking an eye off of him. Keep in mind, he might be my boyfriend, but I don't know everything about him just yet. And I've got all the time in the world to find out.

He sits next to me, legs crossed over each other and a sexy smirk spread across his face. "You'd think." He adjusts his posture before continuing. "When I was younger, I always dreamed of being a figure skater. However, my family didn't have enough money to afford to pay for lessons, much less several outfits for the performances. I haven't bothered going into figure skating since, and I'm okay with that. Just putting on this outfit I recently bought makes me feel amazing."

"You look stunning."

He glances over to shine me a genuine smile. "Thanks." Being this close, I can confidently identify the prominent mascara on his eyelashes. When I first had a look at this man in that cafe, I never would have seen this side of him… his "Eros". His hand gently undoes the buttons further and further down my chest. My face shouldn't be as warm as it is right now.

"Yuri?" I whisper.

He stops after the last button on my shirt is undone. "Yeah?"

"Have you done this with someone before?"

Yuri smiles. "No. I never felt so confident." His fingertips lightly trace over my bare torso as he slowly drops the smile. But I'll safely leave out the rest, you pervs.

* * *

I have to admit, I've never had such a uniquely two-sided person in my life before… He has both Eros and Agape. I absolutely adore this Yuri.

We got into relaxed, cozy around-the-house sort of clothes afterwards. I had to lend him some of mine. (All he had was his clothes from work which were still soaked from putting them on after being in the pool… and he had his figure skating outfit which, trust me, I saw a lot of in the past time.

Yuri, who was comfortably planted on the living room couch for a while, suddenly jumps up and bolts for my bedroom. Laughing, I run after him and see what the heck he's got up his sleeve now. When I get to my room, he's picking up _the cage_.

My jaw drops. "Makkachin!" Yuri opens the hatch and a poodle comes darting out. I completely forgot about the poor thing.

Yuri's arms fold across his chest, giving me a smug glance from the corner of his eye. "Aaand who guessed it?"

A lovely puddle was waiting in Makkachin's cage, and, habitually, I snatch up the dog and run to the front door to get outside. Yuri fetches some paper towel for us to wipe his paws down with.

* * *

"I. Feel. Awful."

Yuri rubs my back as I sulk with a full cup of coffee warming up my hands. I take a satisfyingly loud sip. "It's the first week," Yuri gently mumbles, "It'll only get better."

A slight nod of my head shows him my hope. "Praying."

The puppy sits in front of the both of us, sleepily lying in cinnamon-roll orientation after playing outside. "He's lovely, Viktor," whispers Yuri as we gaze at the fluffy dog slowly moving up and down with each breath. It gives me a sense of calmness, and probably to Yuri as well.

"He does have a pure soul." I reply with a small grin.

My boyfriend leans into my shoulder, his eyes still on Makkachin. "The purest."

All of a sudden, the phone rings from in the kitchen. I stand up from the couch to go and pick it up. "Hello?"

"Viktor, it's been a while," the scratchy, old voice o the other line mutters. "How are you, kid?"

"Just… lovely," I say and then quickly put the phone to my side to mute him out. I look to Yuri, point at the phone, and whisper, "Yakov."

He frowns, confused, and tries to ask me something else, but by this point I've put the phone back to my ear and continued talking.

I let out an exhausted groan before responding. "You're inviting me over for dinner." Yuri seems a little uncomfortable listening to just my end of the line.

"Yes, you heard me right." the aged Russian man replies, a slight tone of annoyance showing through. "You _do_ remember where I live, correct? You know how much I hate telling you my address this many times."

I clear my throat and peek over at Yuri on the couch, who looks quite puzzled. "I'll find it. And Yakov-"

"What?"

"... I have company over at the moment."

"No worries…" he slowly answers, "Bring the boy along. I'd love to meet him."

"You… Yakov…?"

A quiet chuckle comes from the other line. "Trust me, Viktor. You're an open book and gay as _hell_."

I immediately hang up on him, slapping the phone down onto the counter in frustration. _Shit… Is it really that obvious?!_

Yuri gets up from the couch, wrapping his confused self with a cozy blanket. "So who's Yakov?" His voice is calm, but I can still tell he's a little scared. Besides, all he heard was me talking to some guy who wanted to invite me over for dinner. I'd be confused, too, if the roles were reversed.

I firmly look him in the eyes and say, "Yakov is honestly the most annoying old Russian man you'll ever meet. I knew him like a grandfather back in Russia as a young kid, but when me and my family moved here, he couldn't help but follow us." I let out a long, tired sigh and run a and through my silver bangs. "Yakov haunts me to this very day with his snoopy, sassy, grumpy, or sarcastic remarks. And he just invited us to his alcohol-filled, smoke-polluted home."

The relieved smile Yuri gives me makes my heart pang a little at the thought of missing out on seeing him in color.

That's right: I haven't forgotten about it just yet. But I'm also happy for the two of us for our healthy progression. I've never felt so good dating before. Plus, I think we really have a shot at finding color. Not like that's what we're working towards. Heck, no. I don't need anything more than Yuri to love Yuri. Color is simply… a perk.

* * *

My hands loosen grip on the wheel since we aren't moving anyways. "Thank you, snow, for the worst traffic ever." Sometimes I really hate snow. I groan and check the time.

Next to me in shotgun, Yuri grins and then presses the horn twice to honk at the people ahead of us. We're stuck in a terrible snow storm trying to get to Yakov's house in time for dinner at seven.

" _Yuri_ ," I laugh while shaking my head, "It's not their fault!" He just smirks and hits it one more time. "You know what?" I ask him.

"What?"

"You're a real piece of work."

He raises an eyebrow, looks me in the eyes, and leans in closer to my face. "I love you, too." I'm so close that I can feel his breath. A loud, annoyed honk suddenly blares from behind.

"SHIT!" we yell, snapping away from each other ad quickly fixing our eyes on the road ahead. I put my foot on the gas pedal, tighten my grip on the wheel, and make a swift right turn. I continue to slowly make way through the snow to reach Yakov's disgusting living space he calls home.

When we finally find his house, I decide to park next to the road curb instead of bothering to pull in to the driveway. Yuri and I hop out and lock the car before walking to the front door. I painfully chuckle and sink a hand into Yuri's. "Here goes nothing."


End file.
